BREAKING DOWN WALLS: ISRAEL'S CIRCLE OF ENEMIES SHRINKING

Visiting Israel's Holocaust Memorial, Yad Vashem, President Clinton signed the guest book with a message of hope for this region's uncertain future:

"Today, we are one step closer to the time when the people of Israel can live together in peace with all of her neighbors, a time when never again will they suffer death and the events commemorated in this memorial here, simply because of their race and their faith.

"May God let it come to pass."

On his departure this weekend after a whirlwind Mideast tour, only the third by an American president in 50 years, Clinton left behind improved ties with Israel, Jordan, Egypt and some Persian Gulf states. He also spoke of assurances that he had nudged Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat and Syrian President Hafez Assad a bit closer to real peace.

He also departed a Holy Land where hope still is tangled with terror and raised expectations still clash with unfinished business, a new Israeli peace treaty with Jordan and virtually the same old stalemate with Syria.

"After all, the American role in the present process is rather limited," Inbar said. "If we take a look at the main events in the peace process from (Egyptian President Anwar) Sadat's visit to Israel up until today, in most of these events, the U.S. wasn't involved.

"The Americans are paying for rapprochement, but basically, the important actors are the regional players."

Even the crowning achievement of the four-day, six-country presidential trip, the signing of the Israel-Jordan treaty in the Arava desert, was marred by an almost simultaneous mortar attack on northern Israel by guerrillas in Lebanon, largely controlled by the Syrian army.

On the Israel-Jordan border, settlers at an Israeli cooperative farm, partly built on land given back to Jordan by the treaty, expressed a desire last week to visit Jordan, a concept unthinkable only a short time ago.

"I've never been to Petra, but now I hope to someday," said Gilad Livni, 35, general manager of Moshav Zofar, standing in his pepper patch the day before it reverted to Jordan.

But across the border in the cities of Amman or Aqaba, many of the Palestinians, who comprise 60 percent of the population of King Hussein's Jordan, have little love for Israelis despite the scheduled opening of the border.

Muslim militants opposed to peace clashed with police in the streets of Amman on Friday.

A week before the treaty was signed, many Jordanians cheered in shops and on the streets when they heard that a Hamas suicide terrorist had blown up an Israeli bus on Tel Aviv's main commercial street. Twenty-two Israelis died.

Clinton's meeting with Arafat in Cairo highlighted the difficulty the PLO chairman faces in trying to convince Israelis he's doing enough to crack down on Hamas, the radical Islamic group that claimed responsibility for the bus bombing and two other recent acts of terror.

"It is impossible to guarantee 100 percent success in any effort," Clinton said after the meeting. "What we want is 100 percent effort.

"There has been an increasing effort in the last several weeks on the part of Chairman Arafat and the authorities in the territories to do what they can on this front."

Barry Rubin of Hebrew University, an expert in Middle East politics, said the Jordan treaty was "very important psychologically for this country."

But he warned that equally important to Israelis is whether "Arafat is living up to his commitments," and that will affect progress on the next phase of Palestinian self-rule in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

"Clinton's speech to the Knesset (parliament) was well-intentioned and sincere and good-hearted, but also the very naive kind of approach which characterizes American policy," Rubin said, noting that Assad gave Clinton more propaganda than progress.

After his visit to Damascus, Clinton reported to Israel that Assad was serious about peace. But Rubin criticized Assad for condemning terrorism in private talks with Clinton but refusing to make the same statement publicly.

While Israelis have come to trust the sincerity of Jordan King Hussein's commitment to peace with Israel, he said, they don't believe hard-liner Assad is "ready to make peace."

The mortar attack launched against settlers in the Galilee just before the peace treaty signing is but one example of terrorism that Israelis believe Assad could stop.

But Clinton's visit underscored how far Israel has come from the days of its near-total isolation amid hostile Arab neighbors.

This weekend Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is attending the Middle East/North Africa Economic Summit in Casablanca. Many are describing it as a "turning point" for the region to transform the promises of peace into economic realities that will, in turn, perpetuate the peace.

He will rub shoulders with delegates from Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestine National Authority-all former enemies now normalizing relations with Israel. Tunisia and some Persian Gulf states also are moving in that direction. Morocco has said commercial flights between Casablanca and Tel Aviv could be operating within three months.

"Israelis are less isolated," Inbar acknowledged. "One of the reasons they cling so much to the peace process is to overcome the feeling of isolation they've had in the past.

"When Israelis used to go abroad, they always had to travel by airplane or ship, and now they can drive to Jordan," he added. "This is one of those things that let Israelis see they can break down those walls around Israel.

"They can go by bus across the Sinai from Cairo to Tel Aviv, and maybe it will be extended to Jerusalem and Amman soon. They even dream one day they will shop in Damascus."

Perhaps Clinton's most eloquent appeal in his speech, which drew a standing ovation from the Knesset, was for Israelis to hold on to those dreams of peace even amid a new wave of terrorist attacks.

"I say to you, my friends, in spite of all the dangers and difficulties that still surround you, the circle of your enemies is shrinking. Their time is past. Their increasing isolation is reflected in the desperation of their disgusting deeds," the president declared.

"Once in this area, you were shunned. Now, more and more, you are embraced," he said, holding out the image of joint projects with Jordanians to mine the Dead Sea, farm the Jordan river valley and ship cargo into each other's ports.

"This is the great promise of peace," Clinton said. "After all the bloodshed and all your tears, you are now far closer to the day when the clash of arms is heard no more, and all the children of Abraham . . . Isaac . . . Ishmael will live side by side in peace."

Rabin warmly told Clinton that Israelis would "hang our hopes" on the man from Hope, Ark.

Clinton responded that "America will stand with you, now and always."

While Israelis were not unmindful that Clinton's visit would bring the president some badly needed image points at home, they received him warmly.

Sadly for them, the Clinton visit appeared to have done little to fuel hopes for early peace with Syria and Lebanon. Still, Clinton was undaunted. He indicated he might return to the region within three months to try once again to bring U.S. pressure and influence to bear on the process.